Striping device for automobile bodies



OC- 11, l932- R. z. HOPKINS E'r AL STRIPING DEVICE FOR AUTOMOBILE BODIES Filed April 23. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet. l

OCt. 111, 1932. R, z, HOPK|N5 ET AL 1,881,587

STRIPING DEVICE FOR AUTOMOBILE BODIES Filed April 23. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fa'g .9

l f n l 5 n i 5 n f l 5 R vengo/rs: 80M' 1F Se o' 5.9 GLQgX/l/ 9PM Patented Get. 11, 1932 unirse .STA-rss PATENT :OFFICE yBALIEH Z. HOPKINS AND EARL FE'NTONSEGER, 0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A'SSIGNORS TO HUDSON MOTOR CAR COMPANY, vF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CQRPQRATION OF MICHIGAN STRIZPING DEVICE AFOR .AUTQMOBILE `BOIDIES `.Application filed ,April 23, 132,8. Serial 110,272,071.

"-" tor of the devicein proportion tothe speed vof movement oi the .device over the surface to be striped. Another .object of the Vinvention is `to provide automatic means engagea-ble with the ,automobile 'body :tor actuating Vthe force feed mechanism. Further objects of Y the invention consist inl 4the provision Aof guide means for-the applicator and a handle for the device mounted oradjustment relar tive to the means 'for actuating the `force feed mechanism; and to rprovide applicators oi different 'forms which are capable of producing both narrow and wide stripes.

Thefabove and other objects Yofthe 4invend tion will beapparent from the 4following description and appended claims when ta'fken Vin conjunction with they accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters designate similar lparts in the several views.

ln said drawings: Fig. l is a perspective view of one form of Vstriping device embodying theinvention.

v Fig. 2 is a top plan view ofthe device of Y Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3--3, Fig. 2. Fig. a is an enlarged sectionalongthe line -e of Fig. 18. j

Fig. 5'is a side elevation ofthe device of the preceding figures showing the application of the device to a body having a sloping side.

Fig. 6 vis a -viewsimilarto Fig. lshowing a niodied form of applicator.

fiig. j? vis a plan view of the .device of F ig. 6. F ig. 8 is a section ,on the line 88of Fig. 7. v Fig. Y9 is a detail side elevation, partly in i section, .of the applicator of Figs. 6 to 8 inclusive.

l0 is a detail sectional -view taken .on the line l0-l0 of '9, and Fig. il is aside ,elevation of the apparatus ol tF-igs to -v10 inclusiveshowingthe application 4thereof-to a vbody having a sloping side. i

'Before explaining in detail the present invention, and Vthe method of operation embodied therein, it is to vbe understood `that the invention is not limited in its application to :the details of construction and arrangement of parts yillustrated inthe accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practised or carried out in various ways. Also itis to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description .and not of limitation, and it is not .intended to limit the invention beyond the terms of the several ,claims hereto appended or vthe requirements of the prior art. i

Referring now to Figs. Il to f5 inclusive of the drawings, the striping device `or apparatus of our invention may comprise a tank f"'- or reservoir 10 having an extension 1l `to which is pivotally connected a. handle l2 maintained in iiXed adjusted position lby means of a bolt and wing nut construction 13. Mounted upon the reservoir 'l0 through the medium of an extension or projection l is .one form of .applicator .embodying our invention. This applicator comprises'preferably apen Ihaving a pair of nibs l5, l5

each preferably Ihinged at 16 to thebody eX- tension ,14, the nibs Ibeing adjustable relatively to one another-by means of anadjusting screw 1.7.

Asbest seen in Fig. '1, the reservoir supports a guiding device for the pen or applicator which is mounted upon a fname com# prising upright rods 118 and horizontal par'- al'lel bars 19 the ends of the members 18 being )bent `at an ang-le .to their upright portions .and connected 'in any vSuitable manner with the reservoir at 18a. The :guiding device comprises a socket member 2O preferably rectangular lin cross section having ,an

apertured .lateral projection .or extension 21 and a slotted extension 22,. The socket vmember 20 is adjustable vertically upon the rods 18 .and is maintained in any desired adjusted position by means of a clamping screw 23.

The outer faceof the socket member adjacent its forward end vis provided with a slot 24. The socket carries preferably a spring pressed plunger having at its outer end a body engaging guide member r26. yThe member 25 is provided with a lateral pin 25a which projects through the slot 24 when the parts are assembled, this pin serving to limit the movement of the member 25 vrelative to the socket. A coil spring 26a (Fig. Y2) is positioned within the socket member behind the plunger and `serves to Lmaintain it normally in projected position.

The lower end of the reservoir is reduced toprovide a neck portion 10m-and is internally threaded to receive a threaded plug 27 (Fig. 3). The plug is provided with a central lbore, for a purpose to be hereinafter described. 'An apertured screw threaded ycap member 28 engages theV threads of the plug 27 and supports between it and the outer end of the plug, packing material 29. Mounted upon the cap for rotary movement thereupon is a preferably frusto-conical roller member 3() having a hub portion 31 between which and the exterior of the cap 28 a ball race and bearings 32 are supported. A shaft 33 extends through the bore in the plug 2'? and through the apertured cap and is pinned at 34 to the hub 31 of the roller. r Mounted upon the inner portion of theshaft is `a ring or collar 35 betweenwhich and the inner end ofthe plug 27 a ball race and bearings 36 are supported. The shaft and roller are held in position by means of a pin 37 which coni nects the shaft'andcollar 35. Y

Mounted within the reservoir and extending from a point adjacent the inner end of the, shaft 33 is preferably a conveyor tube or conduit 33 having a lower flared end por tion 39. rlhe upper end of the tube is detach'ably connected through the medium of a threaded collar 40 with an integral threaded nipple 10b which may be formed upon the reservoir 10. The reservoir 10 is provided with an exterior internally threaded nipple l10c to which a feed tube or pipe 41 isthreadl @amigar It isl important that paint or other fluid be fed from the reservoir to the pen through the feed tube 41, and to accomplish this purpose we provide preferably a flexible spiral conveyor screw42vwhich is connected ait its lower end with the shaft v33 and extends to a point within the inner end of the feed tube 41 as best shown in Fig'. 4. 1t will be understood' that rotation ofthe roller 30 transmits rotaryfmovement tothe feed screw 42 thus feeding the liquid upwardly through the pipe 38 and feed tube 41'to the pen nibs 15.

The ball race and bearings prevent binding of the parts when thedevice is in use and permit the free rotation of the roller, shaft and feed screw. y Y

'F rom the foregoing it will be seen that whenfhe reservoir 10 contains a supply of paint, the pen 15 and the guide 26 are brought into engagement with the body panel B at vice is operatedrapidly a greater supply of n paint is fed to the pen than when said device is moved more slowly across the surface, thereby vproducing an' even iiow of paint and an even stripe.

The apparatus of Figs. 6 to 11 is identical with that of the preceding figures with the exn ception of the applicator. In these latter iigures the reservoir 10 is providedV with yan extension having'branches or projecting portions. 141, 142 and 143.` Mounted upon the branches 141 and 143 are a, pair' of striping pens each comprising a. pair of nibs 150, which are perfectly identical with the nibs 15 of the device of Fig. 1, these being provided'with the usual adjusting screws 170, 170, and being screw threaded upon vthe ex- ,tensions as shown at 151, 151 in Fig. 9. In-

teipcsed between the pens is a third applicator which, in the present instance, isa strip ing brush Y152 comprising a socket portion 153 threaded to the extension 142 as shown at 154. Embedded in the brush 152 is the flared and flattened nozzle portion 156-of an auxiliary fcedtube-or pipe 155.v The pens are each provided with a feed tube or pipe 150@ which extend to a point adjacent'the tips of the nibs 150. The tubes and150a serve to conduct the paint or other fluid to the brush and the striping pens, respectively, it being forced through the medium of the roller 30 and feed screw 42 to the orifices 140@ in the extension 140. When the devicel isto be operated the ring 26 of the guide is brought in to engagement with therbodyl panel and the striping pens 150 and interposed brush 152 brought into engagement with the body panel at the point where a wide stripe is to be made, while at the same time the roller 30 engages the panel.` TWith the parts in this position the handle 12 is grasped by the operator and the device moved across the body of the automobile thus producing a relatively wide stripe at the pointdesired. As in the case of the without marring the body paint and without interrupting the evenness of the stripe.

As shown in Figs. and 11 it is sometimes desirable to apply stripes to a sloping body panel. When operating upon such surfaces, the wing nut 13 is loosened whereupon the handle may be moved to a strictly vertical position as shown in these figures so as to prevent any possibility of awkwardness in the operation of the device, it being understood that the handle is adjusted relatively to the roller 30.

The device is capable of applying a stripe directly to the belt panel molding BP if desired. Moreover, the device is capab-le of applying stripes to the window reveals of body panels in which case the guide members are brought into engagement with the edge of the window reveal.

It will, of course, be understood that the cap or closure fo-r the reservoir in both forms is provided with an air vent 100.

t will be seen that by means of the conl struction shown in Figs. 6 to 11 inclusive, we

are able to provide a relatively wide stripe on the body in a single operation. This may be done, in accordance with our present method, by simultaneously applying three stripes, namely two spaced parallel stripes and a relatively wider intermediate stripe overlapping slightly the marginal stripes, thereby producing a single uniform stripe. The pens 150 produce even and well defined margins, and the intermediate applicator or brush 152 provid-es a filler stripe between the marginal stripes.

y We claim:

1. In a striping device, the combination of a reservoir for striping fluid, an appli-` cator, a tube leading from said reservoir to the applicator, a screw extending through said tube for feeding the fluid from the reservoir to the applicator, and a roller adapted to travel'on the surface to be striped for operating said screw. Y

2. In a striping device, the combination of a reservoir for striping fluid, an applicator, a tube leading from said reservoir to the applicato-r, a flexible rotary propeller "f extending through said tube for feeding the fluid from the reservoir to the applicator, and a roller adapted to travel on the surface to be striped for rotating said propeller.

3. In a striping device, an applicator, a

reservoir communicating with said applicator, Va flexible screw conveyor positioned within said reservoir for supplying fluid to the applicator, and a friction roller of relatively softer material than the surface to be striped engageable with said surface for driving the conveyor.

4. In a striping device, the combination of an applicator, a fluid tank no-rmally located below the level of the applicator, a tube having an inlet opening in the reservoir adjacent the bottom thereof and an outlet adj acent the applicator, a rotary spiral propeller within said tube, and means carried by the device for rotating said propeller to feed Huid from the bottom of the reservoir to the applicator.

5. In a striping device, the combination of a tank for the striping fluid, an applicator, a conduit having an inlet opening adjacent the bottom of the tank and an outlet to said applicator, a rotary device mounted within the tank and extending into said conduit for feeding the fluid from the bottom of the tank through the conduit to the applicator, and a roller adapted to travel on the surface to be striped for operating said rotary device to supply fiuid to the applicator in proportion to the speed of movement of the applicator.

6. In a striping device, the combination of a reservoir for striping fluid, an applicator, a guide for the applicator carried by the reservoir, a tube leading from said reservoir to the applicator, a flexible rotary propeller extending through said tube for feeding the fluid from the reservoir to the applicator, and a roller adapted to travel on the surface to be striped for rotating said propellet'.

7. In a striping device, an applicator, a reservoir communicating with said applicator, a guide for the applicator carried by said reservoir, a flexible screw conveyor positioned within said reservoir for supplying fluid to the applicator, and a friction roller of relatively softer material than the surface to be striped engageable with said surface for driving the conveyor.

8. In a striping device, the combination of an applicator, a reservoir for containing striping fluid, a guide for said applicator carried by the reservoir, a tube having an inlet opening adjacent the bottom of the reservoir and an outlet adjacent the applicator, a rotary spiral propeller within said tube, and means carried by the device for rotating said propeller.

9. In a striping device, the combination of an applicator, a fiuid tank normally located below the level of the applicator, a `guide for said applicator carried by said iiuid tank, a tube having an inlet opening in the reservoir adjacent the bottom thereof and an outlet adjacent the applicator, a rotary spiral propeller within said tube, and means carried by the device for rotating said propeller to feed fluid from the bottom of the reservoir to the applicator.

In testimony whereof we aii'ix our signatures.

RALPH Z. HOPKINS. EARL FENTON SEGER. 

